Remembering
by shopgirl152
Summary: When a sad piece of news reaches Ferb, him and Phineas find themselves reminiscing on Danville Pier about an old friend. one-shot.


**A/N 1:** Soo...this is kind of set in the same universe as Not Just a Summer Fling, though it would take place about six years after Abby's Arrival. Basically, Summer Still Rocks disbanded when Abby was four (they needed to enroll her in school), and the whole gang settled down in Danville to raise their families and live the "Domestic Life," as Phineas refers to it. This story also has a cameo from Ferb and Gretchen's daughter, Gwendolyn (there's more of a backstory on that one, but it's still developing). Basically, Not Just a Summer Fling spawned lots of Plot Bunnies and one of these days, I will manage to put the stories in order.  
**A/N 2:** Inspired by Luke Bryan's song Drink a Beer.

* * *

_RING_

"Ugh." Gretchen groaned as she reached across the table, attempting to grab the phone. After several failed attempts, she yelled down the hall. "Ferb? Can you get that please?" He emerged from the back of the house, smirking at her. "My hands are a little full."

He looked down at the infant on his wife's hip, ruffling her hair. "Hello Gwendolyn." He kissed the top of Gretchen's head before picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Ferb?"

"It is."

"This is Mrs. Brown. Django's Mom. You remember Django right? He went to school with you and your brother."

"Yes, of course."

"Well…I'm afraid I have some bad news. Django—" there was a catch in the woman's voice and he waited patiently for her to continue. "Django's dead. He-he died of a heart condition a few days ago. I'm sorry I didn't notify you sooner, but…it's just been a hard week." A sob came through the phone. "I can't believe he's gone."

Ferb stood in shock, holding the phone away from his ear.

"Hello? Ferb? Is anyone there?"

Her voice was coming through the other end of the line, but he could barely process what she was saying. He just stared at the phone, hanging up after several minutes and bracing himself against the sink.

"Who was that?" Gretchen asked, walking into the room with an empty bottle in her hand. She stared at her husband. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I'm going to take a walk." He grabbed a coat from the hook by the door and left without another word.

"Oh dear." Gretchen frowned, snatching her cell phone from the dining room table. "I better alert Phineas."

* * *

"Alright Abby, here comes the train." Phineas pushed a toy train around the living room. "Chugga chugga choo choo! Chugga chugga choo choo! Chugga chugga choo choo!"

Abby grinned as he brought the train to a stop. "Again Daddy!"

"Again?" The red head flopped backwards onto the carpet. "I dunno Abby; I'm pretty tired. Let's let the train take a nap for a little while."

"Aww…"

"Oh alright. Just let me—"

"And what are you two doing in here?" Isabella stood in the doorway, shooting her husband an amused look.

"Hey Izzy. Just playing trains with Abby."

"I can see that." She walked over as he sat up, handing him his cell phone. "Gretchen's been texting you."

"Gretchen?" He took the phone from her. "She never texts me. I wonder what's up?" He scrolled through the texts, frowning. "That's not good."

"What's wrong?"

"She says Ferb received a phone call from someone earlier today He was only on the phone for a short time, but apparently, after he hung up, he just grabbed his coat and left without a word. He didn't tell her where he was going or how long he'd be gone and he's not picking up his phone."

"Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"No idea. Unless—" he stopped as his phone buzzed and his brother's name flashed across the screen in a text alert.

"What's it say?" Isabella peered over her husband's shoulder, reading the text. "Big news. Not the good kind. Pier. Six pack." She raised a brow. "Six pack?"

"It's shorthand." Phineas stood up. "When we were teenagers, anytime Ferb was feeling down, we'd go to Danville Pier and split a six pack of beer." He headed into the kitchen, pulling on a jacket before rummaging around in the fridge. He emerged with a six pack, giving his wife a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be back later."

"You're going after him?"

"Yeah. Ferb's pretty strong, but if he's asking for this, something really has him down."

* * *

Ferb repositioned himself against the side post of the pier, staring out over the ocean. He turned at the sound of a car door opening, watching as his brother walked toward him.

"Hey Bro." Phineas handed him a beer before sitting down and popping the top off his own and taking a sip. "What's up?"

He took a long slow drink before removing the bottle from his lips, absently tapping the sides. He stared at his brother. "Django died."

"What?" His eyes widened. "He did? When? What happened? How-when did you hear about this?"

"About two hours ago. His Mum called. Said he died of a heart condition." He took another sip.

"Oh wow. That's rough. Is it the same heart condition he had as a kid?" Ferb just stared at him. "I'll take that as a yes." He raised the bottle to his lips, only to pause. "Are you alright?" The other man shook his head.

The red head stared at his brother with concern. When Ferb didn't respond, he turned his attention to the horizon. "Pretty sky tonight."

No response.

Phineas cautiously turned around. "Ferb?"

"The good ones always go to soon." He shook his head. "It shouldn't have ended like that; he shouldn't have died that way. He was to young."

"Aren't you always telling me that things happen for a reason? That God has a bigger plan in mind? Even when it doesn't make sense?" He took another sip.

"I've tried to make sense of it." A tear fell from his eye and he quickly wiped it away. "I can't make it make sense."

"Maybe you're not supposed to." Ferb stared at him. "Maybe part of God's plan—or whatever it is—is that you're not supposed to understand it."

"But…dying of a heart condition? At twenty-eight?"

Phineas whistled. "Wow. He was our age." He sat in silence for a moment, looking at the horizon. He shrugged. "I wish I had an answer for you Bro." The red head watched his brother take several slugs from the bottle in his hand. "Whoa whoa whoa." He took the bottle from him, setting it on the pier. "I know you're sad, but this isn't the way to deal with it."

"But it's terrible!" He started to cry.

"I know it is." Phineas scooted closer to him, wrapping an arm around the other man's shoulders. "Let it all out."

After several minutes, Ferb's cried subsided and he wiped his eyes, the two sitting in companionable silence. The red head chuckled and his brother looked at him. "What?"

"Do you remember when we were nine and we made that Cirque out in the backyard? He laughed. "Django was the contortionist, but he couldn't untie himself?"

Ferb laughed. "I believe it took us most of the afternoon to untangle him."

"Yeah it did! It's a good thing Baljeet's good at untying knots. Otherwise, we never would have been able to untangle him."

"He was sore for weeks after if I recall."

"Or how about when we helped him paint the unpainted desert? That was fun. It's still a shame his Dad never saw it."

"The small drawing worked just fine…"

* * *

"Well, I'm sufficiently buzzed." Phineas smirked at the three empty beer bottles. "Getting back to the car should be interesting. How bout you Bro?"

Ferb held his second beer bottle aloft, a sleepy smile on his face. "Not there yet."

"You always were better at drinking than I was."

"You drink to fast."

"Oh." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them. "Wish I'd brought water."

"Go swimming."

"What?"

"Cold ocean water. Drink it."

The red head laughed. "I think you just hit buzzed Bro."

The other man merely shrugged, taking another sip before closing his eyes. He sighed. "When was the last time we saw him?"

"Saw who?"

An eye opened for a moment before closing again. "Django."

"Oh. Uh…mine and Izzy's wedding, I think. He was going to Art School or something." He paused in thought. "Wow. That was years ago." A tear fell. "Why didn't we take the time Bro?"

"Summer Still Rocks was still touring."

"I know, but we could've at least—"

Ferb placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "God has a plan. I'll be okay." He shook his head. "We'll be okay. Django knows we cared."

"Yeah, you're right."

He sighed, knocking back the last of his beer and setting it to the side. "One left."

"No thanks. I hit my limit. You drink it."

"Let's save it. For Django."

"Wh—oh yeah!" Phineas grinned. "He used to sit out here with us remember?"

* * *

_Years earlier_

"Come on guys! This is the perfect spot!" Django jumped out of the truck as Phineas put it in park.

The red head chuckled as he followed his friend down to the pier, Ferb behind him. "Slow down Buddy. We have a cooler full of beer and the whole afternoon; it's summer vacation."

"I know, but I want to soak it all in!"

"He's worse than you." Ferb looked pointedly at the red head, who laughed.

"Guess I rubbed off on him."

The two joined their friend on the pier, Phineas popping the tops off three beers and passing them around.

Ferb took a sip. "Ah…the first taste of freedom."

"You know, I'll bet we'll be doing this for years to come."

"Yeah! Until we're thirty!" Django added.

The three boys looked at each other, chorusing. "That's so old!"

The red head raised his glass in a toast. "To summer and good friends."

Django slung an arm around his friends shoulders. "May we always be together."

* * *

_Present day_

Phineas smiled as he raised an empty to the darkening sky. "So long Django."

Ferb held up the full bottle, toasting the heavens. "Until we meet again."


End file.
